Visual Material, 1870s-2012

Please Note:

This collection is currently being reprocessed to incorporate additional material before it becomes fully open to researchers in January 2027. Material may sometimes be unavailable because of this, especially in the remaining series: Correspondence, Writings and Speeches, Subject Files, and Personal. This work is being funded by a Duke Endowment grant focused on Duke family papers. For more information, please contact the Rubenstein Library.

Access Restrictions:

Access note. Some materials are electronic records that require special equipment. Contact Research Services with questions.

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Scope and content:

Individual or collections of still images of the Duke family of North Carolina; Drexel Biddle family of Philadelphia, PA; Trent family of Okmulgee, OK; and Semans family of Uniontown, PA. In particular, this documents the Benjamin N. Duke, Mary Duke Biddle, and Mary Duke Biddle Trent Semans' branch of the Duke family tree, which merges with branches of the other families.

Biographical / historical:
There are distinct phases with some distinct primary photographers: before the birth of MDBTS (pre-1920), her and her brother's childhood (1920-1934), her courtship and first marriage to Josiah C. Trent (1934-1948), her second marriage to James H. Semans (1953-2005), and their son James Duke Biddle Trent Semans as he becomes old enough to operate a camera in the 1970s. The younger James' photography is mixed here with that of his parents'--there are photos of his own life independent of them.
Arrangement:

Organized into six subseries: Scrapbooks, Photo Albums, Photographs, Negatives, Slides, and Artwork.

Related material:

Photo of MDBTS with a microsope as a student, Elizabeth Hatcher Conner collection, Duke University Archives, David M. Rubenstein Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Duke University.

Photo album, William S. Turman Jr. papers, David M. Rubenstein Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Duke University.

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Collection restrictions:

This collection is currently being reprocessed to incorporate additional material before it becomes fully open to researchers in January 2027. Material may sometimes be unavailable because of this, especially in the remaining series: Correspondence, Writings and Speeches, Subject Files, and Personal. This work is being funded by a Duke Endowment grant focused on Duke family papers. For more information, please contact the Rubenstein Library.

Access restricted. Access to this material will be consistent with the 1991 agreement between Duke University Library, James H. Semans, and Mary Duke Biddle Trent Semans. Access to any correspondence, legal papers, and financial papers is restricted and will be permitted only with prior written permission, which should be sought from the chair of the board of the Mary Duke Biddle Foundation. This restriction shall be in place until 1 January 2027, after which all material shall be considered open for research.

Access note. Some materials in this collection are fragile audiovisual formats that may need to be reformatted before use. Contact Research Services for access.

Access note. Some materials in this collection are electronic records that require special equipment. Contact Research Services with questions.

Use & permissions:

The copyright interests in this collection have not been transferred to Duke University. For more information, consult the copyright section of the Regulations and Procedures of the David M. Rubenstein Rare Book and Manuscript Library.

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